FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEMS EFL ...

4.3 The listening factor that poses the most difficulty for the learners
As mentioned in chapter three, the questionnaire was administered to 149 EFL learners
during class time. As far as item number 20 was concerned, however, only 130
questionnaires were accepted for the study. The other 19 questionnaires were not taken
seriously by the respondents, and were excluded from the study.
Table-6: Learners’ responses that refer to the listening problem that poses the most difficulty for
them
Item
No
Statements Students
No.
Students
%
1 Unfamiliar words including jargon and idioms interfered with my
listening comprehension.
2 1.5
2 Complex grammatical structures interfered with my listening
comprehension.
1 0.77
3 Long spoken text made me tired and interfered with my listening
comprehension.
8 6.15
4 Information that was not crucial to me and that could not generate
sufficient interest to me did not make me to continue listening.
2 1.5
5 The length and complexity of sentences interfered with my
listening comprehension.
2 1.5
6 Unfamiliar topic/subject matter interfered with my listening
comprehension.
3 2.3
7 At the time of listening I found it difficult to predict what would
come next.
5 3.8
8 I found it difficult to recognize the words I know because of the
way they are pronounced.
24 18.5
9 I found it difficult to understand the meaning of the spoken text
without seeing the speaker’s facial expressions & gesture (e.g.
frowning face of anger)
4 3
10 There were words that I would normally understand in writing, but
when I heard them in a stream of speech, I found it difficult to tell
where one word finishes and another begins.
4 3
11 I found it difficult to get a general understanding of the spoken text
from the first listening.
4 3
12 I feel worried and discouraged when I don’t immediately
understand the spoken text.
1 0.77
13 I found it difficult to answer questions which require other than a
short answer (e.g. why or how questions, or writing a summary).
2 1.5
14 Speaker’s fast speech interfered with my listening comprehension. 26 20
15 The speech of the native speakers with different speaking styles
from what is familiar to me interfered with my listening
comprehension.
11 8.5
16 The speech of the native speakers with different pronunciation
from what is familiar to me interfered with my listening
comprehension.
26 20
17 Unclear sounds resulting from poor quality tape-recorder or
cassettes interfered with my listening comprehension.
1 0.77
18 Lack of sufficient time for carrying out the tasks interfered with
my listening performance.
53
4 3